There are more "true to type" Walter Mittys around, and some of these have awakened interest on the "Gaining an R.A.F. Pilot's Brevet" Thread. If you go to Page 294, #5864 of that Thread, the first Open Post on the subject appears, and continues sporadically after that for some time. Meanwhile I had a PM from a member who had a 1945 Air Force List: he could not be traced.
The really remarkable thing about the whole story is that the BBC "Look North" Programme and the organisers of quite important events, seem to have taken it at face value without even the most basic of checks.
I would have thought that if a complete stranger turned up out of the blue, claiming to be a WWII Bomber Command hero - a Wing Commander pilot no less, in this case - the first thing to do would be to ask him for his log book. If he's "lost it" or "the dog ate it", he is immediately suspect. Check with the Index to the 1945 Air Force List. If he's not in there, in the Branch and rank he claims, he's a fraud.
It is a salutary tale,
Danny 42C.